A year ago, we voiced concerns about Denver’s taxpayer- funded, $10-million-a-year preschool program.

It was off to a slow start with fewer than 700 participants.

Today, we’re happy to report the Denver Preschool Program now has 5,100 children enrolled — well ahead of projections.

Those who run the program deserve an “A” for effort.

Voters in 2006 took a leap of faith when they narrowly approved a sales tax for the program, deciding that every $10 purchase in Denver would include a 1.2-cent tax for the preschool program.

Twice previously, voters had shot down similar propositions, so the pressure was on to demonstrate that generosity was well-placed.

The program was designed to vastly improve access to preschool for 4-year-olds by offering tuition credits on a sliding scale, based on income.

The earlier holdups included figuring out how to rank the quality of various preschool programs, increasing participation of preschool providers and recruiting children who weren’t already attending preschool.

We were glad to see the progress the program has made when Denver Preschool Program officials met with us earlier this week.

James Mejia, chief executive officer of the program, supplied figures that showed high numbers of families on the lower end of the income scale — those in the $20,000 to $40,000 range — had enrolled their children in some of the more highly rated schools in the program.

The program’s success relies on effectively reaching this demographic. One of its major thrusts is to provide a quality preschool education for children who might not otherwise arrive at kindergarten knowing their letters and numbers.

Mejia also talked about the longer- term measures to track the program’s success by following students as they move through their formal education.

Such information will be invaluable when the 10-year sunset of the preschool tax arrives and voters are considering whether to re-up.

Off to a slow start, the Denver Preschool Program seems to have hit its stride.